West Affric

"A really good and inspiring experience in the wild - I loved it."

Eugene, London

Our West Affric site is part of the Glen Affric National Scenic Area, and is a remote area of land owned by the National Trust for Scotland that lies in the heart of the mountains. It is the most wild of our Conservation Week locations and is ideal for those who are looking for a challenging and invigorating week amongst rugged and spectacular scenery.

The work

We have worked here in partnership with National Trust Scotland since 1993, on the creation of ten new areas of woodland. These will become an important link in a future forest habitat network through Glen Affric towards the west coast. Volunteer work will be within these areas, applying fertiliser to planted trees, plus checking and repairing fences. There will also be an opportunity to take part in early morning black grouse surveys.

Accommodation

Accommodation is at the Glen Affric Youth Hostel. This is the most remote of Scotland's hostels and is surrounded by mountains on the beautiful West Affric Estate. It has simple facilities that are shared with other visitors. There is a well-equipped small kitchen, common room and dormitories. Please note that there is a four mile walk to reach the hostel on the first day.

Please bring your own sleeping bag.

Opportunities for your day off

West Affric is a stunning place to explore, with a number of Munros (mountain peaks over 3,000 feet in elevation) on your doorstep, as well as beautiful lowland walks. It is the ideal location for doing some of the most remote Munros in Scotland, such as Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, Mullach na Dheiragain and An Socach, or for just relaxing and taking in the gloriously wild surroundings.

Wildlife

West Affric is a very remote and rugged moorland area. We are lucky enough to regularly see golden eagles here and occasionally white-tailed eagles. Red deer are commonly seen.

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About Trees for Life

The core purpose and vision of Trees for Life is to restore the Caledonian Forest and all its constituent species of flora and fauna to the Scottish Highlands. By engaging volunteers to achieve this, we aim to provide a powerful and educational experience that will promote the work of restoration to wider audiences. Through providing a demonstration of the techniques of ecological restoration, we aim to inspire similar projects elsewhere in the UK and around the world.